No
matter your story or situation, there is at least one person in your life who
you can’t imagine living without. No matter how you look at it, this life is
short… but it is also a beautiful opportunity to love.

We
recently saw the emotional image of George and Ora Lee Rodriguez who died hand
and hand, only hours apart. And now there is the story of Jim Minnini. The 58
year old was sent to the hospital earlier this year after his third battle with
lung cancer took a turn for the worse. This time around, it was terminal. The
day he was admitted to the ICU of Kingston General Hospital in Kingston,
Ontario, his loving wife Cindy had a heart attack. She was rushed to the
hospital, but not the same facility as her dying husband.

He
begged to see her one last time to say goodbye and somehow hospital staff
managed to bring Jim to his wife’s side just in time.

When
reflecting on the tearful moment, and his father’s desire to see his wife,
Jim’s son Chris said, “He would have just kept hanging on. He wouldn’t have
left if he hadn’t been able to say goodbye to her,” he said. “He wasn’t leaving
this world until he said good-bye. That’s what he wanted, that’s all he wanted
and as soon as he got that he was peacefully able to go.”

And
even more recently, a photo was uploaded to reddit of a couple clutching hands,
that simply filled our hearts to the brim. Though it’s a sad reminder that life
is short, it’s a beautiful example of love that has stood the test of time.

The
girl who posted the photo above writes, “My Grandma, 96, with my Grandpa, 100,
hours before her death this weekend. 77 years of marriage.”

It
must be so difficult to say your final goodbyes, but to have the one you love
and have stood by over the years, there to comfort you makes the moment so much
more tender and precious.